Protected: Christmas Tree Blessing
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483 Words on Turning 45
Forty-five is in the middle. It’s halfway to ninety. It’s twice as long as twenty-two and a half. Forty-five is nine away from fifty-four. Forty-five sees the years behind as instructive, beautiful, compost, and a solid foundation. It sees the years ahead as golden, elegant, rich, and a tall tower. Forty-five is friends who not
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494 Words on Professionals Who See You
It’s not a secret that hairdressers and nail techs are also in the people/helping business. Sure, they do your hair and your nails, but they also see you. A good one doesn’t work on your hair alone, they work on your spirit too. I remember one particular haircut more than 20 years ago. It wasn’t
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How to Plan a Faith at Home Fair (with printable instructions!)
How to Organize a Faith at Home Fair One of the things that I’ve learned in the years I’ve been working with congregations and Faithful Families is this: nurturing solid faith at home practices requires a bit of coaching, instruction, and “show and tell” from faith formation leaders for their congregations. This is why, when
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A Piece of Writing I Want to Share With You Today
Todos los pastores están sufriendo. I said this to my husband this morning, as I sliced up a fresh garden tomato, lovingly given to us by our neighbor. Our six-year-old daughter looked up from her eggs and sausage: “Even you, mama?” she asked. Oops. They’re always listening. Always. Nothing gets past my bilingual babies. “No,
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A Nonexhaustive List of Things I Do in the Pool at the Gym (138 Words)
1. Hang off the side of the pool and pretend I’m a bat. 3. Float. 4. Duck, airplane, soldier. 5. Sort out all of my problems. 6. Invent new problems that need to be sorted out. 7. Breathe in, breathe out. 8. Blow bubbles. 9. Walk from one end of the pool to the other,
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383 Words on Coming Home to Myself
There’s a lovely book of prayers and blessings called To Bless the Space Between Us, by the inimitable writer/theologian John O’Donohue. John O’Donohue had a rare way with words. His work is pastoral, compassionate, and imaginative. To Bless the Space Between Us is a gift to the world, and it’s a resource I refer to
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500 Words on the Line in the Ladies’ Room, Crepes, and Orchids
Last week there were about eight women waiting in the ladies’ room line for three stalls. It was a quiet line, and most people were on their phones. At some point, one woman piped up to everyone, “Excuse me, are all of the stalls occupied?” It might seem like a silly question, but we’ve all
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421 Words About the Beauty of Camp Westminster #PCUSA
Friendship bracelets. Skits. Canoes gliding on the still waters of a cool, clear, lake. Singing songs around smoky campfires and roasting marshmallows. Soft pine needles under your feet. Rainy mornings in the lodge with coffee. Bacon. Laughter everywhere. Putting on a swimsuit that is still just a liiiiiiiiitle wet from the day before. Ending each
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485 Words About What I’ve Learned by Listening to Air Traffic Control (Part 1)
I started to listen to ATC in college when I flew a lot, alone. In those days you could listen to ATC while you flew by plugging in one of those cheap headphone sets into the armrest. Now I listen on my phone through an app. while I’m picking up the house or sitting outside
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